If you're wondering why Christian groups, and especially the Catholic church, are warning parents away from The Golden Compass, I have an answer. To find it, you have to read the series, just as the warning says. If you read the series you find out in the third book why things seem so topsy-turvy in the world presented...
Assume for a moment that God created free will and like everything he created, it was good. Look at the church, at fundamentalist religions, at those who speak for God in our world. It seems as if they believe that free will is a bad thing.... That being the case, isn't it possible that they speak for someone or something that hates free will?
If you entertain that notion, you will end up asking the questions Philip Pullman asks in The Amber Spyglass. They are not easy questions, and they will lead to areas of contemplation that do not lead easily back to the core truths of fundamental sects. But perhaps God is a God that wants us to choose him in full knowledge of all our options, and not because someone external so narrowed the choices that He is the default option.
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Comments: 4
Keep on going on ;-o
I'm also not saying there's an overreaction. I don't believe in censoring media to suit the beliefs of extremists who'd rather not be questioned in the public square, but I think it's appropriate that parents understand what their kids are getting into and be fully prepared to answer honestly any questions that arise from it. I grew up reading Madeline L'Engle, but my mom read every book before I got to it, so I was able to talk with my mom about madmen and tesseracts and evil posing as good and how we can make serious mistakes and still be good people. Same thing with the Oz series and every fantasy series that had a book that won the Newberry.
*That's what I read in the quote, but as I get farther into The Amber Spyglass, I'm struck by the parallels to That Hideous Strength, the third book in Lewis's Space Trilogy.